Dr. Charles (Charlie) R. Cutler, a pioneer of advanced process control (APC) and an AspenTech senior consultant from January 1996 - December 1998 passed away in March. Over the course of his impressive career, including his time at AspenTech, he established himself as a widely respected industry leader.

Charlie was a true innovator. The dynamic matrix control (DMC) technology that he developed years ago has created a tremendous amount of value for the entire industry, and he was always thinking about new ways to apply the solutions and fully exploit their potential.

It was when he was working with Shell Oil in the late 1970s that Charlie conceived of and refined model predictive control (MPC), which later became known as DMC throughout the worldwide process industries. He went on to found Dynamic Matrix Control Corp. in June 1984, and the company was acquired by AspenTech in 1996.

Charlie’s approach to dynamic matrix control used a computer and a computerized model of the plant and process to simultaneously adjust all manipulated variables. His DMC method was the first commercially viable, computer-based, multivariable controller that could handle real-world variations in the operation of the plant and numerous types of constraints placed on the process.

Remembrances from those who worked closely with Charlie:

“Charlie was an extraordinary man who had the vision, passion, technical insight and business acumen to create a new approach to process control for the process industries.  Many people, including myself, owe him a debt for creating new opportunities that have formed the basis for our careers. He inspired others through his leadership and personal example.”

- Boyd Gochenour

"Dr. Charles Cutler was an intellectual giant who changed the field of process control forever by co-inventing multivariable predictive control and by founding DMC Corp., which successfully commercialized the technology in the 1990s. But at the same time, he was this wonderful, humble man who always told people to call him 'Charlie.' He was always approachable and happy to answer questions. Charlie Cutler will be missed.”

- Michael Harmse

“Charlie was a leader’s leader, a committed mentor and a friend. He transformed the advanced process control industry, as well as the hundreds of lives he touched. We are eternally grateful for Charlie’s contributions to this world. He will be missed and remembered by generations of APC engineers.”

- Bruce McFarlin

“Charlie grew his business by delivering customer success. At DMC Corp., his instruction to engineers was simple: when you execute a project on site, wherever it is, do not return unless you have made the customer extremely happy. The platform of success which Charlie created has grown into a global, market-leading business inside AspenTech. His customer-oriented philosophy still permeates our ecosystem. Charlie was a giant in our industry. He transformed process automation.”

- Steve Williams